


The Collect Call

by Emu_Mosh_Veteran



Series: A Lottery of Consequences [6]
Category: Blaseball
Genre: Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Personal Space Invader, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:33:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26963734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emu_Mosh_Veteran/pseuds/Emu_Mosh_Veteran
Summary: A pitcher and a peanut have a telephone call.
Series: A Lottery of Consequences [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1924867
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	The Collect Call

They won, and then they lost.

If you'd told Jaylen that the Peanut was going to make an appearance at the end of the season, she would have laughed at you. Now though, here she was, looking up at the Demon that haunted her.

The Demon that had killed her.

The Demon that had caused the death of so many friends.

The Demon that had made her the cause of so much death.

And she could do nothing to it.

Her breath shook with fear as the Peanut loomed over the stadium, blotting out all light yet emanating it's own dark radiance. They'd beaten the Crabs, the Shoe Thieves had won against the odds, and then it had appeared, and it was not alone. It had brought the shelled, those players encased in miniature versions of itself. At first, her and the Thieves had been ecstatic to see them out, still riding high after the win. But then they'd taken up positions, quietly, quickly, not bothering to chat and not looking quite like themselves. The game that followed was brutal, a procession of pain that seemed like a nightmare as the Peanut toyed with them all. The Peanut had made them all dance to their tune and Jaylen could nothing but feel helpless and small in the face of it all.

It was over now, The Peanut lording it over the league that had tried to defy it, the pitcher sprawled out on the ground in fear and exhaustion, hoping against hope that it would not notice her. The light flickered against her eyes then, and for a long, terrible moment she thought that she was feedbacking into the Peanuts team. A panicked begging crawling up her throat as they looked around frantically, only to find that everything had gone quiet and still, and that around her everything looked as though she was looking at it through a waterfall, out of focus and out of touch.

" _JAYLEN."_

A voice rumbled, low and husky but clear as though it was whispering in her ear. A shadow fell over her then, standing above her, and Jaylen looked back to see Jessica Telephone. Except it wasn't _quite_ her, in a sense. Hair once wonderfully auburn was now whiter than a cloud, and cold, unblinking eyes with irises shaped like peanuts gazed down on her dispassionately. At least, until she met them.

Then the empty facade twisted into a ecstatic, hungry joy, mouth snapping a feral rictus grin, and Telephone dropped to all fours like an animal, her face inches away from Jaylens.

" _I FOUND YOUUUUUU. . . "_

She tried to scream, but the breath couldn't come, and it was all she could to scramble out from under the possessed batter, trying to escape, but Telephone just grabbed her by the jersey and pulled her back.

" _DID YOU THINK YOU COULD TRULY BREAK AWAY FROM ME THAT EASILY, HOTDOGFINGERS? THAT I WOULDN'T COME BACK TO CLAIM WHAT IS MINE? AND YOU ARE MINE, JAYLEN. JUST LIKE SHE IS."_ Telephone's mouth cracked open to bark a hollow, triumphant laugh as she pulled Jaylen towards herself with strength that was not her own.

" _JUST LIKE THEY ALL ARE!!"_ Not-Jessica waved an arm at the stadium, the Shoe Thieves, the Crabs, the fans.

At everything.

She reached down then, too fast to dodge, grabbing Jaylen by the chin, not hard enough to hurt in any way, but no matter how hard she tried Jaylen couldn't pull away, instead slowly getting drawn up to her knees before the batter. She trembled at the sheer power she felt emanating from the possessed woman, closing her eyes hard against whatever horror she thought was coming.

" _POOR JAYLEN, WHY DO YOU QUAIL SO? WE COULD NEVER HURT YOU."_

Telephone cupped her face then, stroking away her hair and brushing the dirt from her cheeks, fingers gentle against her skin.

" _ALL WE EVER ASKED FROM YOU WAS TO REPAY THE DEBT. TO GIVE US THAT WHICH WE ARE RIGHTFULLY OWED. THIS PAIN YOU CARRY, THAT YOU HEFT ON YOUR OWN BACK, WE DID NOT PUT IT THERE."_

Jaylen opened her eyes slowly then, looking up at a face that smiled down at her blankly, beatifically.

" _THIS PAIN YOU BEAR IS YOUR OWN, NO ONE ELSE'S."_

She sobbed, the words cutting deeper and deeper.

" _WE SET YOU FREE, BACK INTO THIS REALM. WE DID NOT WANT TO CORRAL YOU, TO TRAP YOU. YOU STRUGGLED SO MUCH IN THE FIELD, SUFFERED SO. SO WE GAVE YOU POWER AND A PRICE AND SET YOU FREE."_

Gentle digits traced her forehead, but the hand on her chin gripped hard, nails digging in as the menacing aura built up even higher than before.

" _NOW YOU TREAT WITH THAT MICROPHONE, TRADING MY DEBT FOR HIS? SO BE IT, BUT DO NOT THINK THAT YOU WERE NOT WARNED, PITCHER."_

The eyes on the possessed Jessica turned cold as death as they surveyed Jaylen, the tight hand sliding down around her throat. 

" _THIS ONE REMEMBERS YOU, YOU KNOW? ALL OF THEM DO. THEY ALL KEPT A FEAR OF YOU IN THEIR OWN WAY, DEEP DOWN FOR SOME. BUT THIS ONE IS DIFFERENT."_

The grip one her neck tightened harder, constricting her throat as she gasped for breath, eyes pleading with whatever might be left of Jessica Telephone to stop.

" _THIS ONE HATES SO MUCH, JAYLEN, IT IS SO DELICIOUS. WE COULD NEVER HURT YOU, BUT THEN WE WOULD NOT NEED TO."_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

_Elsewhere, there is a bakery, small and out of the way. There is a phone there and it rings. The baker does not own this phone, but it seems so familiar to them in a way. The phone is answered, despite misgivings._

_"_ hELlo OlD frIEnD. do YOu wANt tO _PLAY BALL?"_  



End file.
